Upon a pale horse... (The Mists of Ravenloft)

Where Eagles Fear to Go

13

JUL/13

Upon their return to the Vistani camp, they were rejoined by Kessler’s wolfwere pack. Although the hunting had been good, the wolves did not like the taste of Goblyn flesh. Lothar questioned Kessler’s leadership and a struggled ensued. Eventually Kessler was able to force Lothat to submit, but it was likely that was not the end of the issue between the two.

Using her powers of nature and life, Kira summoned a flock of giant eagles to take them to Avernus. Once again Melantha, Kira and Kessler were joined by Zora and Iadrei. As the eagles approached the castle, they began to become anxious, however, Kira was able to keep them under her control long enough for them to be deposited onto the uppermost spire of the castle.

As the eagles flew away, the banshee guardian began to form on the battlements. As she began to let out a scream, Kira presented the Eye to her. She immediately stopped, transfixed by the artifact, and demanded that Kira turn over her child. Doing so, the group quickly left her presence to plan their next move.

Deciding to avoid the arcane and mundane traps that were inside the castle, the group made a treacherous descent down the outside. They chose to use ropes to ease the effort, at the expense of making it more difficult to remain unnoticed.

The skill of Melantha and Iadrei were able to help the group remain quiet and undetected, although Zora’s strength failed her and she narrowly escaped a fall to certain death. Only a few tumbling rocks betrayed their presence and the group hoped it was not enough to arouse suspicion.

Reaching the level they thought was approximately the location of the cloning chamber, the group entered into the castle through a window. They found themselves in a dimly lit room with a strange circle of mist covered graves and a table of potions and other alchemical equipment.

Recognizing the cloning room they had visited in the past, Melantha moved to investigate the circle of graves, only to be repelled by a blast of necrotic energy. As she recovered from the shock, a pair of eyes appeared near the table, proclaiming to be none other than Azalin.

Kessler’s acute eyes were able to make out the form of an imp near the table, a servant of Azalin’s he assumed. Enraged, Melantha charged the cackling creature, smashing some of the vials, but failing to hit the devil.

In a playful mood, the creature gave a hint about how the group might be able to cross into the circle of graves, noting that the price for failure was death. The group struggled to unlock the secret of the seven potions with the clues given to them by the imp. In the end, Kira determined the correct potion to drink to allow them access to the circle. Their trust in her turned out to be well placed as they crossed the barrier without incident.

However, once they were inside the circle, the mists above the graves parted slightly and a large number of chains began to rise out of the floor. With a clanking sound they continued to move towards the party…